This will be the fourth all-time meeting between Atlanta United and Sporting Kansas City, with the home team yet to win a game. Sporting won its lone trip to Atlanta in 2018 while the Five Stripes have a win and a draw in two visits to Kansas City.
The 2021 season was split for Atlanta, who had 15 points in its first 17 games (W2 D9 L6), the third worst mark in MLS in a team’s first 17 games this season. Only the Revs (37 points) had a better second 17 games than Atlanta (36 points – W11 D3 L3), as the Five Stripes rallied to make the playoffs.
Including the playoffs, Sporting Kansas City lost four of its final five matches in 2021, including the last three regular season matches. That run was the first losing streak for Kansas City in over a year, dating back to consecutive defeats in September 2020.
Atlanta United held more possession than any other team in MLS last season (57.5%), just ahead of Sporting Kansas City (55.2%). The Five Stripes lost the possession battle in only two of their 34 matches last regular season while every other MLS team did so at least five times.
Johnny Russell contributed to at least one goal in his last 10 regular season appearances in 2021 (11 goals, 3 assists), the longest streak in MLS last season. Only five players have done so in 11 or more straight regular season matches in MLS history.
